Til Death
by LittleMissLiz
Summary: Over the course of his time in the TARDIS, Rory has had many encounters with Death. When he meets Death for the first time, he sits down and they get to know each other a little better. As it turns out, Death has Rory's back.


AN: I was inspired by a Tumblr post to write this one-shot on Rory's many encounters with Death. It's a silly little rendition of what I think it would be like if they met. Remember to favorite if you like it. If you're feeling particularly generous, why not leave a review? I appreciate it! Happy reading!

* * *

"It's time."

"No. I can't die here. Not now. Amy and I were building a life together. We were going to have a baby. I can't leave her," Rory whispered. He looked at his crying wife huddled over his dead body and put a hand to his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Rory. Not everything turns out the way you planned," the reaper said, touching Rory lightly on the shoulder. Her gentle green eyes rested on the redheaded woman crying over his body, clearly a familiar sight for her.

"But what does it all mean? What is the point of trying to live a wonderful life if it's going to be ripped away from you at the very last second?" He leaned on the yellow wall to his left and watched as the Doctor defended Amy from the swarms of possessed elders trying to break their way into the house. Their house. If Rory died and didn't wake up in the TARDIS, it meant that this was the real world and the Dream Lord had crafted the other one. This _was_ the world that he had wanted, after all. He just wished he had the opportunity to enjoy it more.

"Come with me." The reaper led Rory out of the room and into the back yard of his and Amy's cottage. They kept walking until Rory found himself in an empty hallway, with a white door behind him. Looking around, he instantly recognized it to be Amy's house.

"Why are we in Amy's house?" Rory questioned.

"This is your personal heaven. You will relive your fondest memories here. Think, what happened in this hallway that makes you remember it so much?" The reaper stepped back and sat on the staircase.

"Rory!"

Rory turned around to see a teenage Amy running toward him. Before he had a chance to say anything, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. When she pulled back, Rory stared into her green eyes. "This is the first time you kissed me."

* * *

Rory bolted upright. He was in one of the TARDIS rooms, sitting on the floor. He looked to his left and saw Amy rubbing her head. "Amy?"

"Oh Rory!" She stood up and ran over to him. "I'm so glad you're all right. You have absolutely no idea how much I worried about you, you idiot." She helped him up and kissed his cheek. "Come on, let's go talk to the Doctor."

Amy and Rory walked down the stairs and into the console room

"Any questions?" the Doctor asked as he examined something in his hand.

"Um, what's that?" Amy asked, pointing to the tiny particles he was holding.

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." He opened the TARDIS doors and blew the tiny sparkling particles out of his hand. He made sure they flew far away from the TARDIS before closing the doors.

"So that was the Dream Lord then? Those little specks," Rory asked.

"No, no. No. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen. It's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you, gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm nine hundred and seven. It had a lot to go on," the Doctor said as he fiddled around with the TARDIS console.

"But why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy asked.

"The darkness in you pair, it would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise, I'm stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out."

* * *

"I'm positive. He just vanished! The memory didn't fully play out, so I know he didn't move on to another one. He must've been resurrected. Do you think the Winchesters did this?" Tessa leaned on the refrigerator and stared at the grey walls, contemplating.

"No, Tessa, the Winchesters had no role in this affair. Nor did I. Rory Williams was not due to die that day. He still has many years left. He is a peculiar case, however. I think I should have a little chat with him next time around." Death spoke in between bites of deep-dish pizza. He relaxed on the couch and drank from his soda. After straightening his black tie, he gestured to the door. "Now, Tessa, I do believe there is work to be done. We have a schedule to keep."

"Yes, of course." Tessa walked to the door, but hesitated before turning the knob. She turned around and faced her boss again. "What did you mean, 'Next time around?'"

Death half-smiled and took another bite of pizza. "You'll see."

* * *

"Oh god. Oh no. No, not again. I'm not leaving her." Rory cried as he watched Amy weeping over his corpse for a second time. The Time Field was consuming his body faster by the minute, and soon he would be erased from time. "She's not even going to remember me."

The reaper placed her hand on his back. "Rory, I highly doubt she's going to forget you. One death didn't break you two, so I don't think another one will."

He turned to face the reaper and took note of her appearance. She was petite, not appearing a day over twenty-five. Her straight black hair just barely touched her shoulders and her green eyes were kind and loving. The look she gave him was not a look of pity, but a look of caring. "Sorry, but what is your name? You don't look at all what I expected the Grim Reaper to look like."

The reaper laughed and shook her head. "My name is Tessa. The Grim Reaper is just a myth. We're just called reapers and there are a lot of us, although none have scythes."

Rory nodded and looked at the scene once more. The Doctor was dragging a kicking and screaming Amy into the TARDIS. Just as well, he didn't want Amy to be erased from time, too. The Time Field had almost completely consumed one half of his body, and a white light surrounded him.

Tessa placed her arm around Rory's shoulder. "Come on. My boss wants to meet you." She walked Rory behind the TARDIS and the scene faded behind them. Rory and Tessa now stood in front of a plain wooden door.

Rory turned to face Tessa. "Wait, so if you're a reaper, then your boss would be-"

"Yes, exactly. Go on, open the door." Tessa stepped back and waited for Rory to turn the knob. "He's not as scary as people make him out to be. Trust me."

Rory took a deep breath before turning the knob and pushing the door open. He expected to see a bright white light and hear singing angels, but he didn't get any of that. Instead, he was greeted by a small grey room. On the left, there was a modest kitchen, with a refrigerator and stove. In the middle of the room, a brown couch faced a television, with matching armchairs on either side. An open can of pop sat on the coffee table, which was placed on a small red rug. An elderly man was sitting in the middle of the couch, eating pickle chips out of a large bag. The man was slender, almost skeleton-like, with a head of black hair. He wore a black suit with a matching black tie, which seemed out of place in a drab room such as the one he was in. He waved Rory in when he saw him standing in the doorway. "Ah, yes, you must be Mr. Williams. I've been wanting to meet you for some time, now. I'm Death, as you may have figured out. Come in and sit down. You're welcome to grab a soda from the fridge." He spoke in an American accent.

Rory looked back to Tessa, who gave him a knowing nod. After he wiped his hands on his jeans, he walked over to the fridge and opened it to find that it was filled with all kinds of junk food. Pizza, hamburgers, takeout cartons, and soda filled the fridge almost to capacity. Grabbing a can of soda, he walked over to an armchair and sat, grateful that he took a can of soda so he had something to do with his hands.

Death wiped his hands on a napkin and leaned forward. "So, Rory, I've noticed you have a tendency to die more often than the normal person."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Death picked up the bag of pickle chips again. "I know two boys like that. They are… interesting. Tell me, what's your story? How does a man like you end up dying multiple times?"

Rory opened the can of soda and took a large drink. "Well, you know, time-travelling all over the universe with a nine-hundred year old alien. I guess these things happen."

Death chuckled. "Oh, the Doctor. He's certainly escaped my grasp multiple times. He's saved me from having to take entire species from time to time. We stare each other down on a regular basis."

Rory relaxed a little. Death didn't seem very threatening and he didn't show any intention of hurting the Doctor or Amy. "So um, this is a cozy room you have here. How often do you, uh-"

Death looked at his watch and held up a finger. "It looks like we're out of time. Until we meet next."

Rory opened his mouth to question what Death said before the room faded away from him. He found himself lying on the floor and staring up at the night sky. He sat up when he heard the clink of metal against metal. He looked around to see tents pitched all over a dusty field. Men were walking around in armor and headgear, similar to what they wore in the Ancient Roman time period. He stood up and felt something heavy on his chest and waist. Looking down, he saw that he was wearing bronze armor over his torso and had a sword hanging from a leather belt. He wore brown trousers and had a maroon cape dangling from his shoulders to his brown boots.

_Oh, so I'm a Roman. That's new. _

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see River, dressed as an Egyptian queen. "Hello, Rory."

Rory blinked and rubbed his eyes. "River, what in the world is going on?"

* * *

"I did it again," Rory said as he walked into the familiar grey room. He spotted Death seated in his usual spot on the couch, eating a hamburger.

"Oh, hello Rory. Go ahead and grab a soda from the fridge. How long has it been? 1,000 years?"

"2,000 actually." He walked to the fridge and grabbed a soda. "Did you meet my wife, Amy? She must have been here for a bit before the Pandorica revived her."

"No, I'm afraid I didn't. She was only dead for a brief period of time before she returned to a near-death stasis."

Rory sat down next to Death on the couch. "Well, that's good then. I hope you don't meet her for a very long time."

"And I as well. Do you love your wife?" Death asked, taking another bit of burger.

"More than anything. She's funny, smart, and witty; she's perfect. Amy is more important to me than the whole universe."

Death looked at his watch and raised an eyebrow at Rory. "It looks like you're going to have to hurry up and meet her, then. Rory the Roman is dead, but Rory the Groom needs to get ready for his big day."

Rory smiled and closed his eyes, preparing for a scenery change.

* * *

Rory had survived being turned into dust by his elderly neighbor, survived being erased from time, survived the reset of the universe, and survived his wedding. Now, he had to see if he could survive a fall off the roof of a building in New York City.

"Rory, what are you doing?" Amy asked, still keeping her eyes on the giant weeping angel in front of her that took the form of the Statue of Liberty.

Rory was balanced on the edge of the rooftop. Arms outstretched, looking at the sky, and ready to throw himself off to escape the weeping angels that were going to chase him for the rest of his life.

"Rory, stop it you'll die," Amy said, walking over to him.

"Yeah, twice, in the same building on the same night. Who else could do that?"

"Just come down, please."

"This is the right thing to do. This will work. If I die now, it's a paradox, right? The paradox will kill the angels. Tell me I'm wrong. Go on, please, because I am really scared."

Amy didn't answer him. She stared at her husband with wide, misty eyes.

"Great. The one time you can't manage it." Rory faltered, but regained his balance.

Amy gasped. He grabbed her hand and put it on his chest. "Amy, I'm gonna need a little help here."

"Just stop it!" Amy exclaimed, gripping his shirt tightly.

"Think it through, this will work."

"It will kill you, too."

"Will it? River said that this space would be erased from time. If this space never existed, then what did I fall off?"

"You think you'll just come back to life?" Amy stammered.

"When don't I? I've met Death many times and he seems to have my back."

"Rory-"

"And anyway what else is there? Dying of old age downstairs, never seeing you again? Amy, please. If you love me, then trust me and push."

"I can't."

"You have to!"

"Could you? If it was me, could you do it?"

"To save you, I'd do anything."

Amy let go of Rory's shirt and climbed on the ledge next to him. When she regained her balance, she looked him dead in the eyes and said, "Prove it."

Rory shook his head. "No, I can't take you too."

"You said we'd come back to life; that Death had your back. Money where your mouth is time."

"Amy, look."

"Shut up. Together, or not at all."

Rory heard the clang of metal as the Doctor and River climbed up the fire escape.

"What the hell are you doing?" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Changing the future. It's called marriage," Amy said. Gazing into each other's eyes, she and Rory fell off the rooftop of Winter Quay.

* * *

Rory opened his eyes to find himself lying in grass. He sat up and found Amy sitting next to him. He breathed a sigh of relief. Death did have his back this time. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Back where we started. You collapsed the timeline. The paradox worked. We all pinged back where we belong," the Doctor said, helping Rory and Amy to their feet.

"What, in a graveyard?" Rory questioned.

"This happened last time. Why always here?" Amy asked.

"Does it matter? We got lucky. We could've blown New York off the planet. I can't ever take the TARDIS back there. The timelines are too scrambled. I could have lost you both. Don't ever do that again."

"What did we do? We fixed it. We solved the problem," Rory said.

"I was talking to myself."

River appeared behind the TARDIS with a bucket of water and a rag. "Could do with a repaint."

"I've been busy," the Doctor quipped.

The Doctor and River cleaned the TARDIS while Rory collected himself and took in all that happened. He did not see Death, Amy was still alive, and he had managed to get out all in one piece. "Look, next time, can we just go to the pub?"

"I want to go to the pub right now. Are there video games there? I love video games," the Doctor replied, hopping in the TARDIS. River and Amy followed him inside.

Just as Rory was about to follow them, something caught his eye. He saw a gravestone with 'Rory Arthur Williams- Aged 82' engraved on it. "Amy, come see this."

"What?" Amy poked her head out of the TARDIS.

"There's a gravestone here for someone with the same name as me."

"What?"

Before he could motion her over, the graveyard faded away from him.

* * *

"Come on. There's someone I want you to meet."

"I don't know, Rory. This is really creepy."

"Trust me, you'll warm up to him." Rory's eighty-two year old hand turned the knob of a familiar wooden door and he ushered his wife inside. He had not seen her for a while, and he was happy she lived a full and lively eighty-seven years.

When they walked inside, holding hands, Rory saw a familiar face sitting on the couch. Death had not appeared to age a day. He was eating a deep-dish pizza, and did not see the couple walk in at first. When he looked up, his face lit in recognition of Rory. "Ah, Rory. It's been quite a long time."

"It certainly has," Rory replied, smiling at his wife.

"Oh, and this must be the Amy you've been telling me about. Hello, Amy. It's nice to finally meet you."

Amy waved sheepishly at the old man sitting on the couch.

Death motioned towards the armchairs. "Come in. You know where the sodas are."


End file.
